Sponsored by Prudential Overall Supply
By Rieva Lesonsky
Do your small business employees wear uniforms? If not, perhaps it’s time to start. Consider these seven ways employee uniforms can boost your business.
- Identification: Uniforms help identify your employees so customers can quickly and easily get help when they need it. For example, a distinctive uniform for restaurant servers, such as Prudential Overall Supply’s bib or bistro aprons, helps customers get faster service because they know exactly who to ask.
- Visual marketing: Uniforms serve as a marketing tool. Do you have employees who go out into the field, such as delivery people or home repair specialists? Whether they’re driving to a customer’s home, walking down the street or stopping for lunch, a uniform helps brand your business in the minds of everyone who sees them.
- Safety: Uniforms can keep employees safe. For instance, if you own a construction business, manufacturing company or automotive repair shop, specialized protective uniforms like Prudential Overall Supply’s work pants, coveralls and high-visibility safety vests can protect employees from workplace hazards. By supplying employees with the proper clothing and footwear, you can rest assured knowing that they’re protected.
- Security: Employee uniforms give customers confidence in your staff. Would you let a repairman into your home if he weren’t wearing a uniform? Neither would your customers. Requiring uniforms gives customers security that your employees are who they say they are. In fact, 75 percent of customers say that uniforms establish trust.
- Save money and time: Uniforms make life easier for your employees. When your business rents employee uniforms, your workers no longer have to pay for their own work wardrobes. Nor do they have to think about what to wear — they just don a uniform in the morning, saving time and effort.
- Unity: Employee uniforms build team spirit. With everyone dressed in uniform, it’s easy to feel team spirit. In contrast, if you don’t require uniforms, employees may become competitive over who dresses the best or feel embarrassed if they can’t afford to “keep up with the Joneses” in terms of fashion.
- Cleanliness: If you choose a company like Prudential Overall Supply, which provides laundering services, you eliminate the risk that employees will neglect to wash their clothing or uniforms. You can feel confident that your staff will always project the right image — clean and crisp, rather than rumpled and dirty.
- Simplicity: Employee uniforms eliminate dress code hassles. Dress codes are tricky to enforce and can cause office gossip and backbiting. With uniforms, employees know they’re always appropriately dressed — and you don’t have to deal with sensitive dress code issues or morale problems. Prudential Overall Supply offers business casual clothing, such as oxford shirts and polo shirts, to meet the uniform needs of any type of business.
Have you decided that employee uniforms make sense for your business? Here are some tips for choosing a uniform provider:
- Simplify the process by choosing a third-party service provider that handles picking up, laundering and delivering uniforms. That way, your employees don’t have to worry about washing dirty uniforms at home, and you don’t have to deal with them in-house. Plus, you know your uniforms will meet your standards of cleanliness.
- Look for a uniform provider that follows environmentally sustainable practices. Prudential Overall Supply is committed to its Clean Green Movement, reusing, recycling and using environmentally friendly products. The company’s energy-efficient and water-saving laundering methods are more environmentally friendly than washing uniforms at home. When you use an employee uniform provider that’s committed to green practices, you can promote your environmentally responsible actions — a great marketing tactic.
- Choose a company that offers a variety of employee uniform options. Some employees may need short sleeves and lightweight fabrics to feel comfortable; others may prefer long sleeves and heavier fabric. Being able to choose from different fabrics, styles and sizes to fit your employees’ needs and job duties will keep your team comfortable while still presenting a unified, professional image.
